Photographer captures the beautiful painted bus stops of Belarus

It's been so rainy here in the Philippines lately so you may have to take shelter while you wait for the bus. While you do, would you rather be treated with a large illuminated ad for glutathione, oral health brand, or energy drink, or would you rather see a beautiful piece of art?

The colorful paintings certainly make these bus stops in Belarus look nicer. According to photographer Alexandra Soldatova, the illustrations first began appearing in the '80s, when local officials commissioned unknown artists to beautify empty landscapes.

Soldatova says: "In Belarus, my home country, people love when everything looks neat, clean and beautiful. I decided to search for origins of this fact. So I researched the environment where people normally live and I was looking for rather outstanding and at the same time very common things which could influence the esthetic feeling of a person."

These photos are part of her It Must Be Beautiful series, wherein the Minsk-based snapper travels around the small European country to capture the beautiful images painted on the concrete walls of old-fashioned bus stops.